Flowing
by Night Diviner
Summary: Mahiru is determined to get Kuro to pull his act together and start helping around the house, even if it means pulling a childish prank on him while he's sleeping. However, the joke is on Mahiru, for Kuro has a little surprise of his own, hidden in plain sight. Will Mahiru go as soft as the hair on Kuro's head? (Warning: potentially as fluff as Kuro's hair. You have been warned!)


Mahiru had a feeling that Kuro hadn't really agreed to clean up the mess on the coffee table like he'd asked. The vampire was much too involved in his video game to pay attention to his eve's command, but no matter. Something devious had been brewing in Mahiru's mind since he'd first asked, something that was sure to teach Kuro a lesson for the future if Mahiru found him lounging on the couch when he got back from grocery shopping.

Opening the door to their apartment, this was exactly what Mahiru saw, and as you would expect, he wasn't surprised. The coffee table was still littered with soda cans and bags of potato chips, and there was Kuro sprawled out on the sofa snoozing away, his game controller held loosely in his tired hands. The game's music still played from the tv, Kuro's character left vulnerable to any evil acts Mahiru so wished. However, these horrible deeds would most likely result in a months-long grudge - if anything, the servamp would only act spitefully from then on, and Mahiru wanted to ensure that Kuro would actually _learn_ from the experience.

The teenager gently set his grocery bags on the floor, ever so quietly, as not to disturb the sleeping Sleepy Ash. He cautiously reached into one of the bags, careful not to scrounge around too loudly as he searched for his weapons. Finally, he felt his hand touch the box, and he lifted it out with continued tact. _Perfect!_

In his hands was a pack of 10 markers, and not the washable kind. A sinister expression befell his face as he creeped along the floor towards the sofa. He eyed the servamp before making his next move. Quite honestly, seeing Kuro resting so peacefully made Mahiru feel slightly bad for what he was about to do, but he knew he couldn't let his inner guilt get the best of him. _He needs to be taught a lesson. Besides, people do this all the time to each other, for no warranted reason._

The teen rose from his crouched postion on the floor and silently opened the box up to remove a black marker. _First, a little work on the eyebrows. Then, kitty whiskers._ Snap! The cap was off, and Mahiru found himself praying that Kuro slept as heavily as he ate. Mahiru also found that his "canvas" was being covered by a curtain of powdered blue hair. _No big deal, I can just brush it aside and -_

 _Wait..._ Mahiru had never touched Kuro's hair before, not when he was in human form. He didn't have the chance to contemplate if he should or shouldn't touch it before the backs of his fingers made contact with the hanging strands... _Woah..._ It was so...incredibly...soft? Well, of course it would be, it was hair... _No...this is like fur. Cat's fur._

Before he could register what he was doing, Mahiru's hand was already combing through the left side of Kuro's hair, sliding along the silkiness of its texture. His hand began at the side of Kuro's face, but gradually progressed just behind the servamp's ear, where the hair grew more thickly. _It's so warm back here,_ he realized with an odd sense of comfort, a sensation of Christmas time. _I bet it gets really hot under his hood._ At the moment, Kuro was not wearing his coat, ditching it for comfier attire - black basketball shorts and a white t-shirt.

Without the coat being in the way, Mahiru noticed how long Kuro's hair really was. The hood always gave the illusion that his hair ended at chin-length, but with only the t-shirt, now Mahiru could see that it just met his shoulders. The teen had seen this before, but he'd never really acknowledged it until now...and he'd also never acknowledged his connection to longer hair until now either. _Uncle has longer hair than most, and Sakuya's hair just about reaches his shoulders as well._ Suddenly, Mahiru felt oddly naked, but again, that strange comforting feeling was rising inside. _Is shoulder-length hair something I'm fond of? Is it because it reminds me of Uncle? Of...Mom?_

Mahiru removed his hand from Kuro's head, realizing that if he continued, the servamp would probably wake up. _What am I doing? Why did I get so off-track? I'm supposed to be punishing him, not admiring him._ Suddenly, his pupils dilated, honey brown eyes widening in shock. _Admiring!? Is that what I'm doing?_ Thinking simply, the act of admiration for his servamp wasn't so beyond Mahiru. After all, Kuro cooperated diligently in battle, he was beginning to think for himself after years of doubt and self-loathing, not to mention the fact that the servamp was always jumping in harm's way to protect his eve...these were all things that Mahiru admired about his partner... _He's very lazy, and that can be a pain, but, all in all, I wouldn't have him any other way._ The eve's appreciation was beaming through a soft grin that had lighted upon his face.

...

 _Okay, actually, something does need to be done about his laziness._ Mahiru was back on the task at hand, readying his dangerous black marker. _And anyway, I bet his reaction will be really funny!_ Once more, his fingers made contact with Kuro's hair, but this time Mahiru refused to fall into "admiration." However, when the teen had the front of his servamp's hair brushed all the way back, he froze up again. He'd never seen Kuro's hairline before, never viewed his full face. Those thin, jet black eyebrows could compete with a doll's, and even if this wasn't a particularly stunning sight, it was still a sight to behold, for Mahiru may never get this view again.

...but he severely wished Kuro had never gotten this view in the first place, but it was too late, for two crimson eyes were already open and fixated on him. "What are you doing?" The question held no tone, neither annoyed nor confused.

Utter horror shot through Mahiru's chest, his cheeks went almost as red as a vampire's eyes, and the black marker was flung from his hand onto the floor. Immediately, he released Kuro's hair and stumbled backwards, nearly toppling over the coffee table. In this case, Mahiru felt very fortunate that there was such a mess, for it gave him the chance to divert Kuro's attention from what had just happened. "Kuro! Didn't I tell you to-to clean all this up!?" he cried, vigorously pointing at the clutter strewn everywhere. "A-and how many times do I have to tell you not to eat greasy potato chips on the sofa? And you know, soda can stain carpets! If these cans fell from you scaring me like that, it...it...it would be bad!" His cheeks weren't even close to fading, but he was very persistent with his sour scowl.

The servamp rolled over on his stomach just as he rolled his eyes. "Geez, so noisy first thing after my nap. Cruel. Nothing like the person in my dream."

Mahiru placed his hands on his hips, but it hardly did anything to increase his authority. "Yeah, well, this is the real world, and in the real world, people tidy up after themselves."

"If only you would pet me like they did," Kuro yawned. "At least _they_ knew how a cute little cat should be treated."

Again, Mahiru froze. _Did he not realize..? Surely it wasn't..?_ His voice was a little gentler when he echoed, "P...pet you?"

"Nyeah~, and in all the right places, too." The servamp closed his eyes, squeezing the sofa's throwpillow in an effort to embrace sleep.

Sweat formed on Mahiru's brow, and he nervously tapped his finger to his cheek (still rosey, in case you were wondering). "You mean..." a shakey hand was set on the back of Kuro's head, just behind his ear. The fingers couldn't help but stroke through the silk. "...like this?"

Kuro's eyes opened, filled with unsuspecting wonder at his eve's skilled touch. His mood suddenly shifted under Mahiru's hand, so much so that Mahiru could feel it himself. Kuro lifted his head. "How did you -"

"Just a lucky guess." Mahiru removed his hand and turned away from his servamp, for fear that he was blushing and that Kuro would take notice. He began to busy himself with clearing the strewn soda cans and chip bags himself. "All cats like to be scratched behind the ears," he pointed out fondly, recognizing the comfort which flowed inside of him. "Okay now, since I pet you, would you please clean this up? It's a simple enough task."

The servamp yawned again, pushing Mahiru's nice touch to the back of his mind for the moment. _At least you asked nicely this time._ He reluctantly slunk off the sofa with a sigh, joining Mahiru by collecting a couple of spilled chips from the floor. _Please overlook this. It's such a pain when you gripe at -_

The warmth from Mahiru's hand returned to Kuro's head, this time on the right side of the servamp's face to push some hanging strands back behind his air. Once the hair was in place, Mahiru was combing through it again. The eve's fingers felt so warm and enjoyed the contact with such a soft texture. He couldn't stop staring at this new look for Kuro, the way the top of his right cheek and the side of his forehead were now visible to the world. Kuro didn't know what to think of this. It was gentle, it felt really nice, an odd sense of comfort stirred in his chest. He loved this simple touch from Mahiru...but why was he doing it?

However, Kuro knew that if he said anything about it, the eve would just stop. He didn't want him to stop. Luckily, Mahiru wasn't about to stop any time soon.

 _It's true. I can't deny it. I admire you._


End file.
